


The island

by darumasama



Series: AUctober [15]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: !medic Will, !merpeople, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Mention of abuse, Transformation, brain not working for tags, deserted island, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27024001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darumasama/pseuds/darumasama
Summary: AUctoberOctober 15th - Deserted IslandWill ends up on a deserted island with a new friend?
Relationships: Amphitrite/Poseidon (Percy Jackson), Hades/Persephone (Percy Jackson), Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Hera/Zeus (Percy Jackson), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Series: AUctober [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949503
Comments: 66
Kudos: 98
Collections: Solangelo Auctober 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This sooo got away from me. XD probably won't be a one-shot. Enjoy

October 15th - Deserted Island

Will painfully coughed up all the salty water in his lungs as consciousness slowly returned to him. He had no idea how he was still alive. After the ship he was a medic on got caught in that terrible storm, he had tried to help. The waves were terribly powerful, knocking crew members from their posts, rocking the entire ship to the point it was a miracle it was still upright. He groaned as he laid on his back, arm over his eyes as he stared up at the hot sun beating down on him. When he went overboard to keep his best friend Cecil from being crushed by a beam that was falling, he didn’t expect to come out of it alive. He had only hoped the rest of his shipmates would.

A sharp, pained breath got his attention and he was instantly on his feet ready to help whoever was hurt. Maybe more of his shipmates had survived if this island was close and were washed ashore, hurt. His eyes scanned the beach, only to fall upon a dark haired boy that looked about his age. Well, at least the top part was that of boy’s body, the lower half that was still in the water was covered in glistening black scales that reminded Will of a dark starry night. A merman. A legend. The boy painfully gasped again, which caused Will to remember that the boy was hurt. He quickly cleared the distance wanting to desperately help, but stopped when the boy’s eyes widened in fear. Will put his hands up to show he wasn’t a threat.

“I just want to help,” Will said calmly, lowering himself to his knees to look less threatening. His eyes scanned the boy to realize just how bruised and battered he was. “I’m a medic. Please, let me help, you’re hurt.” It was his first time even dealing with a merperson, most thought they were just legends, so he hoped that the boy understood what he was trying to say.

Those dark obsidian eyes narrowed, lips set to a frown. “Your kind never help.” The boy said through a heavy accent and gasps of pain. Will could see that the boy was losing the battle of staying conscious, hand pressed to his side, blood trickling through his webbed fingers.

Will looked the boy in the eyes, “Please, let me help you.” He tried to say it with so much sincerity so that the boy would believe him.

The boy’s dark eyes were slowly closing, “Just kill me.” he whispered before his body went limp, eyes fully closed.

Will quickly made his way over to the boy to check his pulse. It was there, but weak. The wound that the boy’s hand was covering would have to be dealt with first considering the amount it was bleeding. Carefully, he moved the boy’s hand to get a better look at the wound and was horrified to see it was a bullet wound. His eyes scanned the rest of the wounds and bruises that covered the boy’s body. It was clear he had been held captive and tortured. The ship that he was kept must had gone down with the storm allowing the boy to escape.

A frustrated sigh escaped his lips as his eyes scanned the beach for something he could use to help seal the wound. No point in trying to get the bullet out if he couldn’t stop the wound from bleeding afterwards. He pressed the boy’s hand back to the wound, as his eyes landed on the remains of what looked to be a crate. He quickly ran over, scouring the remains for something helpful. Much to his relief the crate contained medical supplies. Not all of it useful now that they were soaked and covered in sand, but enough to help him save the boy.

He returned the boy’s side and quickly got to work. Once the worst of the boy’s wounds were patched up to the best he could currently do, he wiped the sweat from his brow, unsure of how to proceed now. Since merpeople were legends he didn’t know if completely removing the boy from the water would kill him or not. If legends held true, which he assumed some of them did, then taking him out of the water would be fine. At least he hoped. He needed to get the boy out of the sun, his pale skin already angry red from sunburn. So he scooped the boy out and headed to the trees to get him out of the sun. Once he made sure that the boy was safe and comfortable in the shade, he explored a bit down the beach and along the edge of the forest gathering supplies while there was still light out.

By the time the sun set, Will had gathered enough random supplies that had washed up on shore to help him start a small fire and gather some food and water from the forest. The sound of the boy shivering made him turn to see him curled up into a ball. With a sigh, he grabbed the dried piece of a sail to drape over the boy’s shivering form, hoping it could keep him warm. He wondered if they had something like blankets under the sea to keep them warm then shook his head. This wasn’t time to think about how merpeople lived. He had to stay sharp in case something happened. The wreckage that he found along the beach wasn’t from his ship, so that was good, but it was also bad. If it was from the ship that might have held the boy prisoner it meant that if any survived, they were most likely dangerous. He wasn’t a fighter, but he could hold his own in a battle. Still, if he was outnumbered and they threatened to hurt the boy he wasn’t quite sure what he would do. So Will stayed mostly awake all night, every so often dozing off only to be awaken by some random shuffle of leaves in the wind.

Just as the first morning light was visible on the horizon, the boy began to stir. Will stayed still as possible with what he hoped was a gentle smile upon his face to let the boy once again know he wasn’t a threat. He watched as confused obsidian eyes opened to take in their surroundings eventually falling upon him. There was a beat of silence as they just stared at each other until the boy reached into the makeshift sail blanket, probably to the now sealed up bullet wound. The boy’s brow furrowed in confusion as he looked back up.

“Why did you help me?” The boy asked. “You should have let me die.”

“I told you before, I’m a medic.” Will said with a smile, poking at the flames in front of him. “I couldn’t let you die. Not if there was something I could do to help.”

The boy’s eyes narrowed, filled with distrust. “You only saved me so you could sell me. I know I am worth more alive than dead to you creatures.”

Will chuckled, “I promise you that is not the case. Once you are healed you can leave this island.” He sighed, resting his cheek against his hand, elbow on his knee. “Which is nice because from what I have gathered so far this is a deserted island and now I’ll probably be stuck here in the foreseeable future.”

The boy looked across the horizon then up at the lightening sky. “You would be correct that this is a deserted island. Although how a human came to be here alive is curious.”

Now it was Will’s turn to give the boy a confused look. “What do you mean?”

The boy’s dark eyes studied him for a moment, “This is a sacred island. A human hasn’t set foot here in thousands of years. None have been worthy enough to do so.”

“So I’m stuck here forever?” Will asked sadly as he thought of his friends and family that he would never see again. People that would mourn his death even though he was very much alive and now probably going to be alone on this island for the rest of his life. Unless this was all some weird dream and he was in a coma or something. Yet something told him he wasn’t.

“Possibly,” the boy answered, hissing slightly as he sat himself up.

“Don’t move so much,” Will said as he worriedly looked to the boy’s uncovered torso where the bullet wound was. “I had to use what I could to seal that wound. It isn’t the best method, but it kept you from bleeding out. If you reopen that, I might not be able to fix it again.”

“Why do you care?”

“Because I don’t like to see people hurt or die.” 

Again, those dark eyes seemed to study him as if he was some kind of anomaly. Given the boy’s track record with humans, Will could understand his caution. The boy sighed and looked back to the ocean, the water’s shimmering surface reflecting in his eyes. He stared out at the ocean for a long time before he spoke again.

“What is your name, human?” the boy asked, eyes still looking out at the waves crashing onto the shore.

“Will,” Will answered. “William Solace.”

“Will,” the boy said in that thick accent making his name sound much more beautiful than it actually was. “It seems that my uncle has deemed you worthy enough to save.” His eyes focused in on Will again. “It is not an easy thing to do. However, you will need both my uncles and my father’s blessing to be able to leave this island which is impossible. They have never agreed on anything since they split the ocean into three domains.”

“Is that what happened to the other human thousands of years ago?” Will asked even though the look on the boy’s face already told him the answer.

“Yes”

Will took a deep breath, as he let the fire dwindle like the little hope he had left of ever getting off this island. He figured that even if this was a sacred island, once the boy was feeling better he might take him to a different one where he could be found. Or maybe turn him into a merperson for a bit so he could leave. Or something. Surely if he was the first human to set foot on this island in thousands of years because he was deemed worthy would mean something. Sadly, it did not. Once the boy left, would he be alone for the rest of his life?

“So when you are feeling better you will leave and I will be alone for the rest of my life? Stuck here?” Will asked, eyes still on the remaining embers of the fire. The boy was so silent that Will thought he somehow left, but a quick glance over at the boy and he could see he was deep in thought.

“Can I at least know your name?” Will inquired, hoping to stop calling the boy, the boy.

“Nico,” the boy, Nico, said softly without looking up at Will. 

“Nice to meet you Nico,” Will smiled softly, getting up to stretch. “I’m going to look around I guess. Better get used to the place where I am stuck forever now.” He left Nico alone as he wandered the island. He figured that if this was some sacred island to the merpeople, that no harm would come to Nico. His exploration was short, the island was ended up being fairly small. Just a beach with a forest in the middle and some interesting writings on stones that he assumed were the merpeople’s language. There were three small streams that lead to the middle of the island where the stones were. From what he could tell there were no animals on the island that he saw, just fish in the ocean.

“Took you longer than I thought,” Nico commented when Will returned, the tattered piece of the sail still covering the bottom half of his body which Will knew contained a fish tail.

Will plopped down on the ground with a tired sigh, “Was looking at the stones with the writing on them.”

“They are what protect this place,” Nico said, giving Will a strange look. “You could see the writing?”

“Am I not supposed to?”

Again, Nico regarded him curiously before he picked up a discarded stick and started to draw symbols into the dirt. “Try to copy the what I am.”

“Why?” Will asked even though he already had his own stick in his hand and attempting to copy the strange symbols Nico was drawing. The odd thing was, that sometimes it would look like Nico drew something, but there was nothing on the ground. The entire time, Nico would draw a symbol, then look up to see what Will drew. With each new symbol, his frown deepened until he threw the stick and crossed his arms.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Nico exasperatedly said, scowling at nothing in particular. Will wanted to ask what Nico seemingly discovered, but was a bit afraid. Nico looked so angry that he might bite his head off or claw his eyes out or something equally as gruesome. So Will chose to sit in silence, retracing some of the symbols that he had copied from Nico.

Will ate some food he had gathered from the berry bushes on the island, even offered some to Nico who refused. He went to fetch some more clean water from the streams, gathered some more firewood for tonight and various other scavenger things. Still, every time he came back to came, Nico wouldn’t talk to him. At one point, Will even tried to talk to him, nothing but the cold shoulder.

He chose to watch the sunset on the other side of the island, then use the moon’s light to guide him back to his little camp. What he saw when he got there was Nico standing. Nico standing on not a fishtail, but two human legs. Even worse he was completely naked. Will felt the blood rise to his cheeks and quickly covered his eyes.

“Why are you naked?!” Will asked/screamed. “Why aren’t you a merperson anymore? What is going on?”

“You’re my mate,” Nico simply stated. “As royalty the sea chooses who is my perfect match. Although, I don’t understand how a human is my match.”

Will peaked through his hand to look at the still naked Nico, before covering his eyes again. “Can you at least put some pants on or something before we discuss this?”

“Humans are so weird,” Nico muttered, but the sounds of fabric could be heard shuffling. “Is this better?”

Will uncovered his eyes again to see that Nico had wrapped the tattered remains of the sail around his waist, arms still crossed across his chest with a very unamused expression.

Will nodded, “Much better. So why do you have legs again?”

Nico rolled his eyes, “My people can take human form if we choose. It is how we so much about you and you know so little about us.”

“You’re royalty?”

“Yes. My father is one of the three kings of the sea.”

“I’m your mate?”

“It would seem so.”

“How?”

“No idea”

“Has this ever happened before?” Will asked noticing Nico’s expression darken. He had the feeling that this had happened before and something terrible happened. There was a hint of sadness in Nico’s dark eyes before he closed them and looked away.

“Let’s just get to the point,” Nico said with a sigh. “You are my mate, therefore you are welcome to leave this island. Neither my father nor uncles can stop you.”

“What’s the catch?” Will inquired knowing full well that there was something else that Nico wasn’t quite telling him yet. He assumed being a mate to a royal merperson had many strings attached.

Nico wouldn’t look at him, just took a deep breath as he looked longingly out to the ocean. “You have to choose. The land or the sea.”

“What?”

Nico sat down as if all the energy was drained from him, eyes never leaving the ocean. “Choose, land or sea.”

“And what does my choice do to you?” Will asked with a frown. Yet again with Nico not just telling everything. It was like pulling teeth to get the entire story out of him.

“Does it matter?” Nico asked, his eyes finally looking to Will. “You are going to choose the land. All the human mates choose the land.”

“Is that why you have legs now?” Will asked, keeping eye contact with Nico. “Because you think I am going to choose land and that what, binds you to the land or something?”

“Or something.”

“And if I choose the sea?”

“You won’t”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Humans are selfish,” Nico simply stated, eyes going back to the water. “It is rare, but every time a human is chosen to be a mate, they always choose the land.”

Will wanted his choice to be the land so he could see his family again, but the look in Nico’s eyes told him if he did then Nico would never get to see his family. It didn’t seem fair. Why would the ocean bind a human and a merperson together if one of them was always going to be sad? Of course, he wasn’t so certain that he even believed what Nico was saying. Merpeople were a mystery, a legend. Up until now he didn’t even believe they existed. Yet here he was, being told he was one’s mate?

He sighed, “Why is the choice mine? Aren’t you royalty?”

Nico’s dark eyes focused in on him again, “Enough questions, Will. Land or Sea?”

“Sea,” Will said without a second thought. As much as he would miss his family, the pain and sadness he saw in those dark pools of obsidian cemented his choice. Nico had already suffered enough at the hands of humans and their selfish ways, this time he would be shown kindness instead. Nico eye’s widened in shock, staring deep into Will’s eyes as if trying to believe what he just heard.

Will smiled, “So now that I’ve picked sea, what does that mean for me?”

Nico blinked, then shook his head before he spoke. “It means you become one of us.” The curve of his lips twitched upward into a small smile. “Are you sure you can handle that?”

“It will be interesting,” Will shrugged. “So what do we do now?”

Nico walked toward him and held out his hand which Will automatically took. He led Will so that they were waist deep in the water and said, “We go back to the sea.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, and here we have another one to continue. I was doing so well with the pokemon one, but the inspiration has left me for a bit. Like I know where I want the Johto region to go, but am just having trouble writing it. XD 
> 
> Well I hope you enjoy!

Nico was surprised to learn that his mate was a human. He was so sure that while Will seemed like a decent human, he would still pick the land. Even humans that loved the sea, that claimed the sea was their true passion, that was a lie. Humans could never truly love the sea when they were born from the land. Merpeople weren’t allowed to tell the human what each choice meant. The human had to pick from their heart. Yet Will still chose the sea with such certainty not knowing what that choice would bring him.

He was brought back to the present where Will desperately tried to hold his breath as he struggled against Nico’s strength to try to reach the surface, not yet realizing that he was no longer human. It was natural for a human to act this way, they were not creatures of the water. Delicately, he turned Will’s face towards him to bring him into a kiss so he would take his first breath underwater. At first those lips refused to part, but after some coaxing those lips parted as Will took a deep breath into the kiss. The amount of electricity that ran through him reminded him the time Percy dared him to touch an electric eel, only pleasant. He would have gone kissing Will for much longer, savoring the sensation, but Will pulled away. His eyes were wide with surprise as he breathed in an out normally, webbed hands at his throat were gills were.

“I can breath underwater,” Will stated, testing it out and taking a deep breath. “I’m breathing underwater.”

Nico frowned, “Of course you are. You chose the sea and I told you, you would become one of us.” He knew why Will was surprised. Humans tended to die if they were underwater for to long, but he had stated very clearly that Will would become a merperson. That meant, that Will would be able to breath underwater.

Will blinked at him in surprise, like forgetting he was there. “I thought... I thought...” He shook his head. “I’m not sure what I thought was going to happen when I followed you into the ocean.”

“You thought I was going to drown you,” Nico sighed, his arms crossing over his chest as he shook his head. A look of shame crossed Will’s face which meant he was right in his assumption. “That isn’t how it works, Will. You are a merperson now and my mate.” Will looked down at his lower half that was now covered in beautiful golden scales that reminded Nico of the sun. It was suiting for Will.

“Whaaaat?!” Will shouted, eyes wide in wonder as he looked to Nico with a bright smile. “This is so cool! Why didn’t you tell me that this would happen?”

“You have to choose true to your own heart,” Nico explained, reaching out to take one of Will’s hands, eyes never leaving those beautiful blue ones that reminded him so much of both the sky and the ocean at the same time. “Why did you choose the sea, Will?”

Will’s cheeks colored softly as he looked down, “You have suffered so much already because of humans...” He looked back up, “...So it was time that you were showed kindness instead.”

Nico felt his breath taken away as he looked at the sincerity in those bright pools of blue. Will wasn’t like the other humans that had hurt him. He was truly pure and kindhearted, giving up his own life so that Nico could be shown kindness without knowing truly what he was signing up for. There were tales of human kindness in their stories, but those were nothing but myths. The true history of when humans and merpeople interacted was nothing but death. Could it be that some of those myths might have actually been true? That they were just so rare that no one believed they existed?

He had once hated the thought of someone being chosen to be his mate forever. He didn’t want to be forced to marry and spend the rest of his life with someone he didn’t even know. But now, staring into those kind blue eyes, he thought that maybe it wasn’t that bad. That maybe the ocean had gotten it right by choosing Will to be his mate. No one had captivated his attention the way Will did in the short time they have known each other. It was like how the moon and ocean were one, the constant push and pull of the tides. He felt that no matter how hard he tried to pull away from Will, he would always be drawn back in.

“So,” Will chuckled. “Now that I am a merperson, now what?”

“You meet my father,” Nico answered, already pulling Will with him through the water.

“Your father?”

“Yes.”

“One of the three kings of the sea?”

“Yes” Nico said, turning back to look at Will visibly gulp, his eyes holding fear within them. “There is no need to be afraid, Will. You are safe because you are my mate.”

“But I’m human,” Will said, then shook his head. “Or was human.”

“And?”

“Don’t your people hate humans?” Will asked a tremor of fear in his voice.

Nico stopped to actually turn around and face Will. “We do hate humans, but we also can’t argue with the sea. You were chosen for a reason, Will. And you are the first human mate that has chosen the sea.”

Will chewed on his bottom lip nervously, “Will they know I was human?”

“They will,” Nico answered truthfully, eying the fact that will still had a shirt on. His pants long gone because of his transformation. “Especially with this on.” He started to tug the shirt off, but Will stopped him which Nico thought it odd. Most male humans didn’t mind taking the top part of their clothing off. In fact, when he was held captive on the ship, many of the men didn’t wear shirts while working. “What is wrong?” he asked curiously, taking note of Will avoiding eye contact with him.

“I...” Will started then stopped. “I am afraid that I’ll forget what it was like being human.”

Nico chuckled softly, “Will, you are one of us now. You can transform like us too.”

Will’s head shot up, eyes wide in surprise. “Really?”

“Yes,” Nico answered with a nod. “It will take a while for you to be able to learn how, but you will be able to return to the land.”

“Then why the choice between land and sea?”

“It is just how it is,” Nico explained the best he could. “Most of my people think that human mates are chosen by the sea to eventually bring the two together, but each time had failed until now.”

“The merperson of the human mates that chose the land?”

“Are stuck there,” Nico sighed, looking down sadly. “It happened to my older sister. I don’t even know where she is, or how she is. I’ve spent years searching for her.”

“Nico,” Will whispered, bringing their hands together between them. “I promise that I will help you look for her. I know a lot of people through my travels, it is likely that someone will know where she is.”

“Eventually,” Nico whispered before he looked back into Will’s determined blue eyes. He vaguely wondered if maybe this was why the sea chose Will for him, to help him find his sister. “But for now, we need to introduce you to my father, then the kingdom and then the other two kingdoms.”

Will nodded as he followed behind Nico the best he could. He was very much like a child learning to swim for the first time. The way merpeople and humans swim are very different and because of that it took him a little longer to learn. Although some things like floating in one spot seemed to come naturally like most. Nico wondered if they would ever make it to his father’s domain at this rate. With Will still getting the hang of swimming as well as getting distracted by everything. The innocent, childlike wonder that filled Will’s eyes and bright smile at all the things under the ocean’s surface that humans have never seen before. More than once Will would get swept away in an ocean’s current, not paying attention when something caught his eye despite the many times Nico warned him. Still, as annoying as the journey was, Nico couldn’t help but smile at the way everything seemed to excite Will. From being able to ride on whales and sharks, to the various underwater foods that Nico introduced him to, all of it was exciting to Will.

The closer they got to his father’s kingdom, the colder it got. While Nico was used to the coldness of the ice covered oceans, Will was not. Will constantly shivered and said he wished he kept the shirt that he had eventually taken off somewhere during their journey. Nico couldn’t help but notice the beautiful sun tattoo over Will’s heart when he finally did get rid of the shirt. He found it odd that Will would be cold, a merpersons’ natural body temperature should adjust accordingly. Then again, they have never really had a human chose the sea, so this was a series of firsts. He thought back to the old tales his mother used to read to him, but all of those were just tales of romance. None of them really explained what it was like for the human to change into one of their own.

“Do you have blankets for the cold?” Will asked curiously through shivers.

Nico sighed, pulling Will close to him in hopes that maybe it would help. “We do not. We naturally adjust to our surroundings. So I don’t know why you are not.”

“Because I’m human,” Will said through clattering teeth, arms wrapped around him as he pushed himself closer to Nico. “And I’ve always hated the cold.”

Nico frowned at that, “I’m afraid my father’s kingdom is very cold. His domain is the north and south, both of which are always covered in ice.”

“How can your father’s kingdom be divided like that?” Will asked, still shivering. “Isn’t it hard to rule when it is so separated?” 

“There is a way,” Nico chuckled, then remembered that the path connecting the north and south was heated by the earth’s core. They were still far from that tunnel, but it did give him an idea. There were parts of the deeper waters where underwater volcanoes were slowly rising. The water was much warmer in those places. It would take them a bit longer to get there, but at least Will wouldn’t freeze to death this way. It made him wonder if Will really would freeze to death. He had never heard of a merperson dying this way. Even encased in ice, they were still alive just unable to move.

Will hummed contently when they neared one of the underwater volcanos. “This is much better.”

“Don’t get used to it,” Nico said. “There are only so many of these the further north we go. But at least it will help for the time being.”

“So I’m going to freeze to death in your father’s kingdom?” Will asked with a soft chuckle. “Good to know.”

“No,” Nico chuckled. “There is one area in my father’s kingdom that is warm. It is the tunnel that connects the north and south. Because it passes through the earth’s core it is warm.

“There is a tunnel that goes through the center of the earth?!”

Nico couldn’t help but laugh at Will’s absolutely shocked expression. “There is. It is much warmer there. So you should manage not to freeze to death. My step-mother has her garden there, I’m sure you’ll love that as well.” He frowned, “Although, she doesn’t like people going into her garden so do take caution. She isn’t always the... friendliest of people.”

“Neither were you at first,” Will pointed out with a laugh. “But I guess you had your reasons for not trusting me since I was human and all.”

Nico just scowled at Will, not willing to admit that the human had grown on him despite the annoying detours they had to take on their journey. His scowl didn’t last long when Will smiled at him brightly before dragging him a bit closer to where the underwater volcano was slowly erupting from the surface of the ocean. They followed the path of the underwater volcanoes as closely as possible to keep Will warm, but eventually there were none as they neared the kingdom of the north. Nico sighed as he pulled a shivering Will close once more. Will seemed to forget he was cold when they finally arrived at the kingdom of the north. Eyes sparkling in wonder.

“Come on,” Nico sighed. “I’ll show you around later. I’m sure my father is expecting us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed that chapter. I feel this might be a longer-ish series now... I guess we will see.   
> I am planning on continuing the following stories from AUctober:  
> Melted Ice  
> Chef Nico  
> Ferryman to the Underworld  
> The Island  
> What is a Hero  
> Time to End a War
> 
> At least so far. I don't know if I will wait to finish other things before starting some of these up. Currently, Melted Ice, The Island and my Pokemon AU are all ongoing. So you might have to wait a bit for the others, but we will see where the inspiration takes me. Also, I am a little stuck on Melted Ice, so I am open to suggestions for that XD lol
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this though, let me know what you think XD


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, this is where my inspiration currently is. So enjoy! XD

Will couldn’t contain his wonder as he looked at the beautiful underwater city. It looked like a city of shimmering crystals due to the ice and the glow of strange green seaweed that lined various parts of the outside. The way the seaweed glowed and moved made it look like green flames flicking in the wind. The ice came from below and above making it look like a mirror image of itself in the middle where they met. Merpeople were coming in and out of various parts of the ice. Some looked like shops, while others looked like homes. In the middle of all this beautifully falling and growing ice was what looked like a spiral structure that had a warm light glow coming from within it. This place was a place of fantasy. Never would he have imagined to see something like this in real life, everything was just so magical.

“It’s so beautiful.” Will whispered more to himself, feeling the excitement hum through his body, no longer cold. He quickly took Nico’s hand, briefly hearing him say that he would show him around later, but he couldn’t wait. The kingdom was just so magical in every way shape or form. Nothing like this could have ever been achieved on land. The shops had what looked like thin clear ice to act as windows while the rest of the openings were free so people could filter in and out easily. The homes had seaweed that seemed to be heavier on the bottom to act as drapes to give them some privacy. Each part of each ice building was like a work of art. The artwork that was on the sides of the ice buildings were even more impressive, stuck within the ice were precious jewels and gems, that he had only seen in passing on land, creating a mosaic of color.

“Will,” Nico hissed, pulling him away from the buildings and preventing him from going into the shops. “Later.”

Will pouted, but gave Nico a nod. It probably wasn’t the best idea to keep the king and queen waiting. He was sure that word had already arrived to them about the appearance of the prince with a human now merperson. His eyes darted around, noticing that most of the merpeople had dark hues of black or brown as their tails, some had hues of blue, and a few had brighter colors that reminded him of tropical fish. None of them had bright golden scales that he did. He also noticed how they looked away when he looked to them, hushed whispers behind their hands. It was then that he turned to Nico and noticed the stiffness to his body, his face set in a hardened frown as he continued to drag him down the path. 

“Is it not custom to bow to royalty here?” Will asked softly so that only Nico would be able to hear him. He didn’t want the people to think he was rude for being curious. For the most part, Nico had tolerated most of his questions on their journey, he had a lot of them, but this question seemed to bother him. Nico just muttered a quick ‘let’s go’ as he continued to drag him towards the center of the kingdom towards the swirling spiral of ice.

Will just let it go, instead letting his eyes roam the various mosaics and structures of ice in awe. He tried to ignore the whispers of the people, and the looks, but the farther they went into the kingdom, the more it happened. He did catch the some of the hushed whispers, surprised that they weren’t necessarily about just him, but about Nico too. It was curious as to why the people here seemed to think that it was an omen of bad luck for him to return. This was Nico’s home, he was their prince. From what Will could tell, Nico might be a bit rough around the edges, but he was a good person. It wasn’t just that Nico was back, but all the scars that littered his body. A ping of guilt settled in Will’s stomach. A quick glance to Nico and he knew that he had heard them too. The scars were the marks of how terrible humans were to Nico, yet here he was, fated to a human. The bullet wound had healed rather quickly on their journey to which Nico said that they healed quicker than humans especially in the water. Of course Will argued with him, telling him he should have said something sooner instead of just resting on the island. If the water did in fact heal merpeople’s wounds faster, he should have said so. Nico had just shrugged and said it didn’t matter because he didn’t quite trust Will at the time still.

“Hey,” Will whispered, giving Nico a soft smile when he turned to look at him. “Thank you for putting up with this stupid human.” He hoped to draw Nico’s attention away from the whispers, and himself as well.

Nico gave him a strange look, his dark eyes darting back and forth as if searching for something before a small smile graced his lips. He looked away as if trying to hide the smile from him and from what Will could tell maybe a small blush. “You aren’t the stupidest human I have ever met.”

Will chuckled softly, “You did have to save me from those ocean currents a few times.”

Nico rolled his eyes, but there was still the slight smile on his lips. “You’re worse than a newborn.”

Will hummed in acknowledgment, “I suppose so.” His eyes looked back around him at the many wonders of the kingdom. “Everything you have shown me so far just seems so magical. Stuff from fairy tales and myths.” He looked back at Nico with a bright smile. “I am glad that I met you on that island.” He gave Nico’s hand a squeeze as he looked down at their still joined hands. “I’m glad that I chose the sea.” His eyes met dark obsidian. “I’m glad I chose you.”

Nico stopped them for a bit, to once again study Will’s face. He had done it often in during their trip when Will would say things. It was like he just didn’t understand why Will showed him kindness or said nice things about him. It made Will wonder, just how hard of a life Nico must have had. There was very little he knew about Nico in general despite their journey. Mainly because Nico just didn’t want to talk about things. Will knew that his sister’s mate was a human and was now bound to the land, but that was all he knew about her. He knew that Nico had been looking for her ever since then and that was how he eventually got caught by humans and imprisoned. He knew Nico was a prince of one of the three kingdoms of the sea. That he had three cousins and younger sister, but that was it. Anything else Will asked about him was met with a hardened glare so he never pushed it. Maybe eventually Nico would tell him these things, they were fated to be together, but until then he would just wait.

“NICO!” a girl’s voice screamed, causing both of them to turn their heads at the blur of mocha and caramel coming towards them. The next thing Will knew, was Nico released his hand as the girl wrapped Nico into a hug. He watched as Nico stiffened for a moment, learning that Nico didn’t really enjoy too much physical contact on their journey, before he hugged the girl back.

“Hey, Hazel.” Nico said softly, a fond smile on his face. Will recognized the name to be of Nico’s younger sister. Her skin and tail were a beautiful chocolate brown, with her tail having random spots of scales that sparkled silver and gold. She had shoulder length curly cinnamon brown hair with golden eyes. A man behind her had a dark blue tail, with a broad muscular torso, short black hair and dark almond shaped eyes.

Hazel pulled away with a frown, holding her brother’s shoulders. “What were you thinking? I told you, Frank and I would help you look for Bianca. How could you do that alone?” 

Nico looked down sadly, “If I go missing, then the kingdom will not suffer. You and Frank are the future of this kingdom, Hazel. I couldn’t put you in that kind of danger.”

“But we will suffer,” The man behind Hazel said, putting his hand on Hazel’s shoulder, which Will assumed might be Frank. “We all were worried about you and missed you.”

Nico shook his head, “It doesn’t matter, Frank. I...”

“Nico, don’t be rude.” Hazel interrupted, her golden eyes finally landing on Will. “You need to introduce us to your mate.” She smiled brightly at him. “Thank you for bringing my brother back to us.”

Will blushed at that because he had done nothing other than just meet Nico on a deserted, sacred island. He bowed politely which only earned him a laugh from Hazel. 

“No, no, no.” Hazel giggled. “None of that. You are part of the royal family now. I’m Hazel, Nico’s younger sister.” She took Frank’s hand in her own, “This is my betrothed and mate, Frank.”

“It is an honor,” Will said softly, looking between the three in front of him. “My name is Will.”

“Mother and Father are so excited to meet you, Will.” Hazel squealed, letting go of Frank’s hand to grab Will’s and Nico’s. “We should hurry so we can start the celebration!” She dragged both Will and Nico along with her, Frank following close behind.

“There is no need for a celebration,” Nico frowned.

Hazel rolled her eyes dramatically, “Of course there is. You have finally returned,” her eyes glanced over at Will, a satisfied smile on her face. “With your mate nonetheless.” She turned her attention back to Nico. “That is cause for a celebration!”

“The people don’t like me,” Nico answered. “I doubt they will celebrate my return.”

“The people just don’t know you,” Hazel corrected with a positive smile. “So we just need to change that! I think having a human mate will help you connect better with everyone.”

Nico gave Hazel an incredulous look, “I seriously doubt that.”

“Everyone is curious,” Hazel giggled, once again glancing back to Will. “This has never happened. Both Uncle Poseidon and Zeus are already on their way with our cousins.”

Nico stopped them, a look between annoyance and horror crossed his face. “All of them are coming already?”

“King Poseidon had already sent word to everyone before you even arrived,” Frank said. “We knew you would be showing up with your human mate shortly.”

Will blinked at that, remembering briefly that Nico mentioned that one of his uncles had allowed him passage to the island that humans weren’t supposed to step foot on. It would make sense that King Poseidon might have already known about everything from the start. He wondered if King Poseidon himself might have caused the storm and arranged for Will and Nico to end up on that island together. Or maybe it was the sea itself. The way the merpeople talked about the ocean, one would think it was its own entity itself. 

Nico groaned, “When is everyone supposed to arrive?”

“Thalia is already here,” Frank informed. “Apparently, the hunters were close by when word went out. The rest are still on their way, but will probably be arriving shortly. It did take you two longer to reach here than expected.”

Will let out a nervous chuckle, some heat rising to his cheeks. “That might have been my fault. I had to learn how to swim properly, and we might have made few detours because I got distracted. I apologize.”

“No worries,” Hazel smiled brightly. “You are here now. You are my brother’s mate and have returned him to us. You are part of the family now, Will. That is all that matters. Once everything has been arranged, you can explore the ocean to your heart’s content. And maybe show us around the land?” She gave him a smile and a wink.

“You are not to step foot on land, Hazel.” Nico argued. “It is too dangerous, I have already told you this.”

“You hold no control over me, brother.” Hazel laughed. “I think now that Will is a part of the family, that it would be rude not to meet his family. Thus, we must go to the land eventually. But for now, we must hurry. Father and mother must be growing impatient.” She once again dragged them along with her towards the large spiraling ice structure in the middle of the kingdom. 

The closer they got, the more Will realized just how massive it was. A gasp of amazement escaped him as they entered. As beautiful as it was on the outside, the inside was beyond words to describe everything. It was like a mini city within, even more beautiful than the one outside the spiral. He was almost positive he could easily get lost in here with all the twist and turns of various pathways alone, not to mention the beautiful architecture and massive mosaics. The next thing he knew, he was in what looked like a thrown room before what he assumed were the king and queen. He went to bow, but Hazel stopped him with the shake of her head and a bright smile.

“It is about time you have arrived,” the queen said with a bored expression. Her resemblance to Hazel was uncanny, the only difference was her hair wasn’t wildly curly, but neatly pulled back and arranged. Her tail reminded him of the wheat fields back home, with a swirl of dark browns mixed in. Will looked to the king who looked like an older version of Nico with a beard, though his eyes seemed to be just as cold as the ice around him. A shiver passed through him, reminding him even through all his excitement, he was still quite cold.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience, Lady Persephone.” Nico said with a frown. “But we had some detours that needed to be taken along the way.”

Queen Persephone’s eyes bore down on Will, their color darkening a bit. She leaned back into her icy thrown with a hum. “It would seem the human isn’t quite fully changed. Are you cold, my dear?”

Will nodded through a shiver, his arms already wrapped around him. Ever since they arrived in the throne room, the coldness seemed to be worse. Nico’s concerned eyes caught his, as he moved past Hazel to wrap his arms around Will’s shivering form.

“Perhaps we should continue this conversation in your garden, my love.” The king said, already getting up from his throne. “It is colder here to keep the warmth of the tunnel from ruining the climate. But your garden is warmer because it requires the warmth.”

“I agree,” Queen Persephone answered with a nod. She started saying something else, but Will could no longer make out the words. Everything around him seemed to slow down, even his shivering. It reminded him of the time he had fallen into the frozen lake. The sharp pain from the coldness slowly disappeared as everything went numb, and everything went dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided this time around to make Persephone, Hazel actual mother because why not? That is why they look similar, in case you were wondering. More about their family details will be explained later, but for now, I'll give you that one. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol, this got really long, sorry not sorry. XD
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

When his step mother pointed out Will’s shivering, Nico felt terrible for not noticing sooner. He knew that Will wasn’t used to the cold. It was one of the reasons why it had taken them longer to get there because they were following the underwater volcanoes to keep Will warm. Only this time, Will’s shivering seemed a bit more extreme than on their travels. He gave Will a concerned looked before pushing past Hazel to wrap his arms around Will like he had before. Eventually Will stopped shivering, and Nico thought that maybe he was warm enough now, until he saw the glassy look in Will’s eyes.

“Will?” Nico whispered before Will’s eyes closed completely, his body going limp in his arms. He panicked, “Will!” He could feel the slow flow of water out of Will’s gills, so he was still breathing which was good, but when he went to feel for a pulse it was weak. Will’s normally tanned skin was pale, even his golden tail seemed to lose some its brightness. Would he really lose his mate so shortly after finding him? Was it because he wasn’t worthy of having Will even if the ocean tied their fate together?

“Hurry and take him to my garden,” Persephone said, already ushering Nico there with Will in his arms. 

Nico did as his step mother said, quickly making his way to her garden where it was much warmer. He should have suggested it the moment they entered the palace, should have taken Will automatically to the warm garden while Hazel and Frank went to inform Hades and Persephone. Or maybe he should have waited for Will’s body to get used to the cold before they even showed up here. He shook his head and focused on the present as he rushed downward to Persephone’s garden.

“Bring him here,” Persephone ordered as they entered the garden. She was by her most famous tree, the pomegranate. By using her knowledge of the land and the magic of the merpeople, she had been able to modify different plants that normally only grow on land to grow underwater as well. Nico quickly followed her to the base of the tree where she was commanding the leaves to grow larger. Large enough to cover Will’s body, which she did. He knew that the leaves would only stay warm for a certain amount of time, but at least it would help warm Will a bit better. The plants that grew in Persephone’s garden were all much bigger than the ones on land because in order for them to use the core’s energy instead of the sun’s they needed bigger leaves to catch it (or at least according to Persephone.) For once in his life, he was actually grateful for his step mother and her odd obsession of plant life on land. If it wasn’t for her knowledge of both land and sea base plants, this garden wouldn’t even exist. He wondered if Will would only be able to survive here like the plants from the land.

“When he wakes up, give him this.” Persephone offered, gesturing to one of the ripened fruits dangling from the pomegranate tree. “It should help him regain some of his strength.”

Nico pulled Will’s bundled form closer to him, “Thank you Lady Persephone.”

Persephone gave him a sad smile, “I know I haven’t been the kindest to you in the past, Nico. But please accept my apology and just call me Persephone. No need for the formalities.”

Nico eyed his step mother suspiciously. It was true that she was not kind to him or his older sister in the past. They were not her own children like Hazel was, so she didn’t care about what happened to them. The only reason why they even existed was because she was having too many problems conceiving a child of her own that it was suggested that his father take on a mistress to at least produce an heir. Only a year after he was born did Persephone actually become pregnant with Hazel. Even though, his sister and him were born first, they weren’t the true child of both the king and queen so Hazel would inherit the throne. He didn’t really care when he still had his mother and sister. But his mother passed away from illness, and that same year his sister was forced to live on land. His father was too busy dealing with issues of the sea, while Persephone purposely kept Hazel away from him, even though she would sneak out to be with him. In the end, he had been mostly alone. It was why he chose to leave and go search for his sister. No one would care if he was gone or if he ever returned. If he died trying to find his sister no one would mourn him. If he actually found his sister, then maybe he had a chance of finding some kind of happiness again.

The bitter taste of the memory made him look away from his step mother and frown. There was no reason for her to change her mind after so long. Maybe it was because she hoped that going to the land wouldn’t be as dangerous now that his mate was human, that finally their two worlds could co-exist. He tightened his grip on Will, promising to protect him from whatever selfishness that his step mother and others might have planned for him.

“How’s he doing?” Hazel asked, floating beside him.

Nico looked down at Will, some of the color had returned to his face. His breathing was deeper and more noticeable, even the slight shiver came back from time to time. “He looks like he is doing better.” He let out a sigh of relief as he leaned his head against the pomegranate tree. 

“Perhaps we should leave them be,” Hades suggested. “We have other guests arriving soon that we might need to distract until the human is feeling better.”

“His name is Will, father.” Nico snapped, hating how so many people just saw Will as a human. He knew that it was really his father’s or anyones fault. The introductions hadn’t really happened due to Will becoming too cold and passing out. But still, there was just this unusual protectiveness he felt towards Will.

“Will,” Hades hummed with a nod. “Well, when Will is feeling better I look forward to meeting him.”

“We both do,” Persephone added with a smile that seemed genuine, but still made Nico uneasy. It was going to take more than just a simple apology from Persephone for him to trust her. While he knew that she wasn’t necessarily ‘evil’ or ‘wicked’, she still had a lot to prove to him before he let her around Will alone.

“Now, everyone out.” Hades said, shooing them out of the garden to give Nico some peace.

Hazel planted a kiss to his cheek, “I’m happy you are back, Nico. I look forward to getting to know Will better as well as seeing you happy again.” She winked at him like she knew something he didn’t before she took Frank’s hand and followed Hades and Persephone out of the garden. Guards were left at the entrance to make sure they were not bothered unless absolutely necessary. Which was necessary when his two cousins were concerned. Thalia tended to be able to read the room or situation better. Jason and Percy on the other hand, were a little too invested in Nico’s life. They both knew they could never replace Bianca, but that didn’t stop them from trying. They even started calling him ‘bro’ instead of ‘cousin’ because apparently they now saw him as their little brother.

Nico just sighed as he brushed some of Will’s golden curls out of his face. He had been so happy that Will had chosen the sea. While being bound to the land would help him search for his sister, his heart was still to the sea. Now he wondered if it would have been better if Will was like the other humans. The transition for him seemed all magical and amazing at first, but he was soon going to learn that there were issues even in the world under the sea. Too bad there weren’t any rural places to hide away in the ocean like the land had. It was very rare for merpeople to live outside of the four major cities and if they did it was still close by. Didn’t mean it wasn’t possible or that people didn’t do it, but it was still very rare.

Will shifted in his arms, nuzzling closer to Nico with a content sigh, face buried into his chest. Nico felt his lips twist into a smile, a blush following soon after because he was smiling at just how beautiful Will was. Was it possible to feel so connected to someone he had just met? Granted, Will did tell him a lot about himself on their journey due to Nico not wanting to talk about his train wreck of a life. He thought about how Hazel mentioned meeting Will’s family and everything he knew it. From what he had gathered it was just Will and his mother most of his life. Will’s mother, Naomi, was a very popular singer in their small port town community. Will described her voice as one that would make anyone’s heart melt with its warmth. The only reason why Will started doing more traveling was to help save up to better take care of his mother later. He had seen how difficult it was on some of his friends that also had a single parent to work and try to take care of them without much help. 

Nico wondered if the news that Will had been lost at sea had reached the woman and how heartbroken she must be if it did. Transforming back and forth between being a merperson and a human took years to master for most. Would Will still have a mother waiting for him once he could finally return to the land? As he looked down at Will’s sleeping face, he figured that maybe he could approach Will’s mother and bring her to a secure shore where they could reunite if Will was having trouble becoming human again. It would be the right thing to do because he knew that if his mother was still alive and he had been forced onto the land by Will’s choice, he would have wanted to see her again.

“Nico?” Will groaned, his face pinched together as he slowly woke up. Blue eyes fluttered open to look up at him with a small smile. “What... what happened?” A shiver ran through his body, those blue eyes closing as he tried to curl himself into Nico more.

“You got too cold and passed out,” Nico explained. “We are in my step mother’s garden where it is much warmer. How are you feeling?”

“Cold,” Will murmured into Nico’s chest, another shiver. “But not like before.”

Nico hummed as he commanded the shadows in the water to bring him a pomegranate fruit. “Can you eat this?” Nico asked as he gently tried to press the fruit to Will’s lips. “It might help you warm up a bit faster.”

Will turned his head a bit to take a bight of the pomegranate, his nose and brows scrunched together at the taste. “Pomegranate?” Those blue eyes opened to inspect the fruit in Nico’s hand.

“Yes,” Nico answered with a small smile. “My step mother, the queen, is very fond of the plants that grow on land. Her mother, father and herself go there every summer to tend to this huge garden and fields of different plants. Eventually they learned how to grow some of those plants here underwater, but I do think that my step mother seems to prefer the way they taste on land.”

“Tastes a bit more sour and tart,” Will commented, reaching a hand out of the large leaf blanket to take the rest of the pomegranate in his own hand and inspect it a bit more closely. “It looks ripe, but tastes as if it isn’t.”

“Your mother has a tree in her garden if I remember,” Nico noted as Will sat up a bit, taking another bite of the pomegranate.

Will nodded, “She does...” He looked down sadly at the rest of the fruit in his hand. “I hope she is doing okay.” He looked back up to Nico. “Maybe since everyone is coming here we can visit her sooner?” 

“Possibly”

Will gasped, eyes going wide. “Oh no! I passed out in front of the king and queen! They are going to think I am rude for not properly introducing myself! I...”

“It’s fine, Will.” Nico sighed with a shake of his head. “I should have known that the thrown room was going to be too cold for you. If my step mother hadn’t pointed it out, I don’t know what would have happened. I am sure that everyone will be happy to have the introduction here in the garden so that you don’t freeze to death. My father even suggested it before you passed out.”

Will buried his face into his hands, the leaf ‘blanket’ now only covering his tail. “I’m so embarrassed. Everyone probably thinks I’m just a pathetic and weak human. That it was a mistake to have me be the mate of royalty.”

“I’m sure no one thinks that,” Nico said despite the fact that he knew some people probably did, but Will didn’t need to know that. “Remember Will, we have never had a human pick the sea. Everything about you is a mystery to us. Your transformation into a merperson might be taking longer because your body isn’t used to it. Similar to when we first transform into a human. My first time it took me a full week to fully become human.”

Will peaked out from behind his hands, “Really?”

Nico smiled, “Really.” He took Will’s hands in his own so he could pull them away from his face. “Now, why don’t you rest some more before you meet the entire family at once?”

“You say that like it is going to require a lot of energy to do so.”

Nico chuckled, “Believe me, it does. You haven’t met my cousins, Jason and Percy. And let me warn you now, when my father and his two brothers come together, it never really ends well. The royal family of the sea is quite the disaster.”

“So are the ones on land,” Will chuckled softly, a hand placed over his sun tattoo. “I didn’t tell you before because I don’t think it really matters, but my father is the king to the land that I live in. He is married to his husband Hyacinthus so they can’t produce an heir. Instead, they agreed that my father could produce children with various woman. A mage would verify each claim and each child would be marked at the age of ten with the symbol of the sun to prove their right to the throne.” He chuckled, “It is funny that I never cared to be a part of my royal lineage only to be part of a different one.”

“Hazel is the true heir to the throne,” Nico explained. “So for me, being of royal lineage doesn’t matter either. However, the fact that we both come from similar backgrounds might help with bringing the humans and merpeople together.” He was surprised to learn that Will’s situation was not quite the same, but very similar to his own.

“I doubt that,” Will sighed. “My father is kind of... self obsessed from what I have heard about him even though my mother says otherwise. I have personally never met him. Seen him from afar once when he was doing a parade during my travels, but that is about it.”

“My father wasn’t all that present either,” Nico said with a somber nod. His eyes were drawn away from Will at the movement towards the entrance of the garden. A royal messenger whispered something to the guards, then bowed politely as he entered the garden.

“I am here to inform you that King Zeus, Queen Hera and Prince Jason as well as King Poseidon, Queen Amphitrite and Prince Perseus have arrived.” the man said. “King Hades and Queen Persephone said to have a message sent to them when you are ready to have the introductions.”

Nico looked to Will, “It is up to you. I personally would rather avoid it as long as possible, but that might start a war if my father and his brothers are alone in a room for too long. That and the sooner we do this, the sooner we can go see your mother.”

Will chewed on his lip nervously, “I am... feeling much better. So I guess we shouldn’t delay it.” He finally noticed the large leaf ‘blanket’, his eyebrow quirked up, blue eyes sparkling like the sun on the ocean‘s surface. “I thought you said there were no blankets underwater.”

“This is a special case,” Nico chuckled. “These only work in Persephone’s garden and only last for so long.”

“I hate to interrupt, my prince.” the man said with a bow, causing Nico to frown. Since when did his people ever refer to him as their prince? “Your answer?”

Nico looked to Will who only nodded. “Send them here so we can get this over with.”

The man bowed again before swimming away to inform everyone. Nico let out a tired sigh, he was not looking forward to this at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, off to watch the rugrat. 😊


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another super long chapter, I hope you enjoy it. XD

To say that Will was terrified to meet the royal family of the ocean would be correct. Very correct in fact. He had already embarrassed himself in front of the king and queen of this kingdom and would surely do the same in front of the other two. Even if his father was a king on the land, it wasn’t like he knew much about how to be a royal. The rule was that once enough of King Apollo’s children were over the age of ten, then they would hold a huge ball where they would determine the rank of the children to inherit the thrown. The top three would then live in the castle to be trained to inherit the thrown as well as protected. It was supposed to be a way to keep family members from trying to kill the other children so that their own child would inherit the thrown. There were actually many rules in place to keep the children safe from the greedy and malicious ways of adults. It was actually King Apollo’s husband’s idea, Hyacinthus.

“You okay?” Nico asked, snapping Will back to his present dilemma.

“Just a bit nervous,” Will sighed, getting off Nico’s lap to sit next to him instead at the base of the tree. “I may be from a royal lineage, but I was never raised that way. Now, I kind of wished I had been so I don’t embarrass not only myself, but you as well.”

“You’ll be fine,” Nico said with a smile, then frowned. He sighed heavily, “Just let me deal with my uncles and their wives. My cousins at least don’t care for all the formalities.” He rolled his eyes, “As annoying as they are, they are at least easier to deal with.”

Will took Nico’s hand between his own, dark obsidian eyes looking up into his. “You shouldn’t have to deal with them alone if you do not want to. You’ve already helped me so much, let me help you too.”

“You saved my life,” Nico pointed out, a slight blush appearing across his cheeks as he looked away.

“You did too,” Will said. “I probably would have died trying to get off that island if I had to stay there alone forever. So we are even.” He mused at how Nico’s blush seemed to grow a bit and how adorable he looked pushing some of his dark hair behind one of his ears. Not growing up in his father’s castle was probably a good thing. Even if maybe some of the etiquette would have helped, it wouldn’t have mattered because he would have never met Nico otherwise.

“His and her majesty, King Hades and Queen Persephone.” The guards called out as they entered the garden. “Her Highness and her mate, Princess Hazel and Sir Frank. His and her majesty, King Zeus and Queen Hera. His and her highness, Prince Jason and Princess Thalia. His and her majesty, King Poseidon and Queen Amphitrite. His Highness and his mate, Prince Perseus and Lady Annabeth.”

Will straightened himself as the royal families of the ocean entered the garden. King Zeus had long dark hair with a long beard to match it, cold electric blue eyes with lightly tanned skin and well built. His tail was a bright yellow with a mixture of dark purple lightning bolt looking lines. Queen Hera had long platinum blond hair, large, soft brown eyes with a pale complexion. Her tail a beautiful swirl or orange and yellow. Prince Jason and Princess Thalia looked like siblings, there was no denying that. They had the same blue eyes as their father, just not as bright, more like sky blue. Both had the platinum blond hair of their mother with their complexion somewhere in between that of their two parents. Both Jason’s and Thalia’s tails were purple at the top, then slowly transitioned into bright yellow.

King Poseidon looked very much like his two brothers, dark long hair and beard, very muscular. The only difference was the bright sea green eyes that he shared with his son, Prince Perseus. His complexion wasn’t quite as tan as King Zeus, but not as pale and King Hades. His tail was the same bright sea green as his eyes with slight wave looking lines of a softer green. Queen Amphitrite had black hair, mocha-dark eyes and a kind smile. Her tail was a bright green that matched her olive complexion. Prince Perseus looked very much like his father, only younger. Just how Nico looked just like his father as well. The only difference was that Prince Perseus’ tail was a vibrant blue. Lady Annabeth, according the announcement was Prince Perseus’ mate, had long, curly honey-bond hair with stormy gray eyes and a light complexion. Her tail was a swirl of a silverish gray and yellow.

Will politely bowed to each group of the royal family even though it was suggest that he didn’t have to. But that was just Nico’s family so he didn’t want to seem rude and not bow. At the end of the day, he was still a human that had been fated to be the mate of one of the princes of the sea. Already, he could feel the cold stare of King Zeus, a look of loathing on his face like Will’s very presence offended him.

“So this is the...” King Zeus started then looked Will up and down with a frown. “...human.” The bitterness and venom in the way he said the word made Will feel like he didn’t belong here. He looked down, afraid to meet King Zeus’ intimidating gaze.

“Come now, brother.” Poseidon sighed. “You can’t argue with what the ocean wishes. It was only a matter of time before a human picked the sea instead of the land. We should be thankful.”

“Says the one that intervened to make this happen,” Zeus spat in disgust. “You and Hades planning on forming an alliance against me?”

“Zeus,” Hades answered in a bored manner. “Just because Piper of my court did not wish to be forced with your son because they were mates doesn’t mean it is war. Your own daughter has dismissed her own chosen mate to roam the seas with the hunters as the guardians of our kind.”

“Don’t you dare look down on me because of the choices of my children!” Zeus boomed.

Will looked to Nico with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. He knew Nico warned him that the three kings of the sea didn’t get along, but he could feel the coldness and electricity in the water all around them as King Hades and King Zeus glared daggers at each other. Nico met his eyes and shrugged in a manner that said, ‘I told you so. This is how my family is.’

“That is enough!” Queen Hera shouted, pushing her husband away from his brother. “We are not here to argue. We are here because a human as finally become one of us. This should be seen as an opportunity to finally reveal ourselves to the humans and make a deal with them.”

“That and I will wage war on whoever harms my garden,” Persephone frowned, shooting glares at her husband, Zeus and Poseidon.

“And that our little bro Nico has finally come back,” Prince Perseus laughed, swimming over to Nico to wrap him in a hug.

“Get off me, Percy!” Nico hissed, swatting his cousin away. 

Percy didn’t seem to mind, his bright smile now directed itself at Will who just looked at him liek a deer in headlights. “Nice to meet you, I’m Prince Perseus, but everyone just calls me Percy.” He held out his hand expectantly which Will looked at for a moment before shaking it. 

“It is an honor to meet you, Prince Percy,” Will said politely. “My name is William Solace, but everyone calls me Will.”

Percy laughed loudly, “No need for formalities.” He casually threw an arm around Will’s shoulders, “You’re part of the family now, bro!”

Jason swam up to them with a smile, “It is nice to meet you, Will. I am Jason.” His blue eyes looked to Nico with a fond, brotherly smile before focusing back on Will. “Thank you for bringing our little brother back.”

“We are cousins,” Nico hissed, shooing both Percy and Jason away from Will. Both Percy and Jason didn’t seem bothered and teamed up on Nico as each of them threw an arm around his shoulders.

“We promised Bi we would take care you you,” Jason said with a sad smile.

“Which makes you our little bro,” Percy beamed, ruffling Nico’s hair only earning him a glare and a hiss as Nico escaped them once again.

“Leave Nico alone,” Thalia scolded, flicking both Percy and Jason in the foreheads. “It’s no wonder he disappeared for years with you two annoying idiots.” Despite what she said, she had a kind smile on her face. It was very clear to Will that the younger generation of the royals were very close to each other. Even though Nico acted like he hated it, Will didn’t miss the small hint of a smile when his two cousins called him their little brother.

“WHY DO YOU WELCOME THAT HUMAN INTO YOUR KINGDOM?!” Zeus’ loud voice boomed and echoed through the garden, turning everyone’s attention back to the three brothers. Zeus pointed an accusing finger towards Will without even looking at him while he got into Hades’ face. “Have you forgotten that it was the humans that took your daughter from you?! That almost took my daughter from me? Look at the scars on your son, brother. You think that the creatures of the sea did that to him? NO! It was those filthy, vile humans!” 

Will couldn’t help but push himself closer to the tree behind him in fear. Nico had said that he couldn’t be hurt because the ocean chose him to be the mate of a royal. The look of hatred on Zeus’ face made him question that. A small sigh of relief left him when Nico and his cousins, as well as Hazel and Frank put themselves protectively in front of him. A small smile on his lips, when he felt Nico’s hand entwine with his.

“You watch you tongue, brother.” Hades said with a frown and surprisingly a level voice. “You are a guest in my kingdom. If you don’t like how I run it, then you are very welcome to leave.”

“Uncle Zeus,” Nico growled, those electric blue eyes now focused on Nico. “How dare you throw accusations towards Will just because he is human. I’ll have you know that he saved my life. He tended to my wounds and took care of me until I was well. And when I discovered that he was my mate, he choose the sea not the land. Yes it is true that most humans we have come in contact with are cruel and selfish, but Will is neither of those things. So I would chose your next words carefully.”

“You dare challenge me, boy?” Zeus’ spat venomously. “You may have royal blood in your veins, but you are just a bastard at the end of the day.”

“So am I,” Percy interjected. “And yet you seem able to accept that I will be the next to the thrown for my father’s kingdom. Why is Nico any different?”

Poseidon put his hand on Zeus’ shoulder, “I would chose your next words wisely, brother. That is my son and my heir.”

Zeus shrugged off Poseidon’s hand, “I can’t believe you are protecting a human.” He sent one last glare towards Will before storming out of the garden.

Hera let out a tired sigh, “I apologize on my husband’s behalf. Her brown eyes looked over to Hades, “I believe he is still upset that Miss Piper doesn’t wish to be forced to marry our son.”

“I told all of you that I don’t care,” Jason interjected. “Just because fate said we were meant to be together, doesn’t mean we have to follow it. I respect Piper’s choice and will stand by it.”

Hera smiled fondly at her son, “I know you do. Unfortunately, you father is stuck in his traditional ways.” Her eyes darted to Poseidon and Amphitrite. “Remember, it took him a while to understand why you two chose to have an open marriage despite being mates. Give him time.”

“If anyone can convince him, it is you Hera.” Amphitrite smiled brightly. “You are the one that truly keeps all our kingdoms from war.”

“Of course I do,” Hera chuckled then bowed her head politely. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I have some damage control to deal with.” With that she left the garden to go find her husband.

“I apologize, Will.” Persephone finally said after a moment of silence. “Zeus was out of line, but rest assured that you will always be welcomed here. And know that anything he might do or say is a direct offense against us as well.”

Will felt his heart warm at how so many of these people came to defend him even though they had just met. “Thank you.” He said softly with a bright smile and a blush. “All of you are so kind to defend me even though I am human and we have just met.”

Percy laughed loudly, “It takes a lot to befriend Nico, so the fact that he is willing to defend you means you’re good in my book.” Nico shot an ineffective glare towards Percy at the comment.

“Just because you are human doesn’t mean it is right to make automatic assumptions about you,” Annabeth said, cool grey eyes looking at Will with a small smile. “Percy and I have a human friend on land that we would trust with our lives.”

“Grover is the best!” Percy beamed.

Poseidon sighed heavily, fingers pressed to his temples.“I don’t want to know how many times you have gone to the land unsupervised.” His green eyes looked to Will, a small smile appearing on his face. “But perhaps Will, here, can change how dangerous it is on land for us.”

Will blushed and looked down, “I am not sure how much change I can actually make, your majesty. I am just a boy from a small port town.”

“Are you not a son of King Apollo?” Poseidon asked, gesturing towards the sun tattoo on Will’s chest. “You bear his mark.”

Will felt his whole body heat up in embarrassment as he gnawed on his lower lip nervously. Sure everyone in his town knew he was the son of the king, but they respected that he didn’t want everyone to know that. The people he traveled with didn’t even know that he was a son of King Apollo. He made sure to cover his sun tattoo when traveling, using the excuse it was an ugly scar that he was very embarrassed about. He didn’t want to be treated any differently just because of it. He became a traveling medic because it was a good way for him to travel around and make good money in doing so. Once he gained more experience from the various other medical professionals in his travels he would eventually take over for Chiron, his town’s medic. He wanted nothing to do with his royal side.

“King Apollo has many children,” Nico stated in Will’ s defense, probably noticing how uncomfortable he was about the subject. “And it might not be such a good idea to make it widely known that merpeople do exist.”

Poseidon stroked his beard in thought, “Hmm, possibly. We will have to see then.” He smiled at Will. “I look forward to you choosing the sea means for humans and merpeople. Percy, Annabeth, come along. We should get back to planning your wedding.”

Percy groan loudly, “So much work.”

Annabeth chuckled softly, “Come on, Seaweed Brain. It isn’t that bad.” Percy grumbled something as he left the garden with his family with a small wave goodbye. 

“We should get some rest,” Hazel suggested, giving Will an apologetic smile. “Welcome to the family, Will. You think this was bad? You’re lucky that an actual fight didn’t break out.”

“I would have ended them all for damaging my garden,” Persephone commented with a glare at no one in particular. Her expression softened as she looked at Will, “You are welcome to stay here where it is warm, Will. I doubt Zeus would dare try anything against you while you are in my garden.” She smirked, “Everyone knows that I am a force not to be reckoned with.”

“I certainly wouldn’t dream of it,” Hades chuckled, placing a loving kiss to Persephone’s cheek. He looked towards Nico, “I would suggest that you slowly get Will accustom to the cold waters here.” He looked to Will, “Welcome to the family, Will. Please feel free to let us know if there is anything you need.”

Will bowed politely, “Thank you King Hades, Queen Persephone. You are too kind.” He looked to Hazel, Frank, Thalia and Jason. “All of you are.”

“Just know that if you chose not to want to be part of this family, it is okay too.” Thalia grinned. “We respect what the ocean chooses for us, but it is only a suggestion. It doesn’t mean you have to follow what it tells you.”

Will blushed, “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.” He glanced to Nico briefly, knowing full well that there was just something about him that he was drawn to. Even if he didn’t quite know what to do with his position in this royal family, he knew that he would probably never leave Nico’s side. That much he had come to terms with.

“See you around, Neeks!” Jason grinned, only laughing when Nico glared at him.

“Bye brother,” Hazel smiled. “Bye Will. Feel free to visit when you become more accustomed to the cold.”

Will watched as everyone slowly filtered out of the garden, leaving him alone with Nico once again. He took a large breath, then let it out, relief filling him now that he wasn’t the center of attention anymore. As far as introductions go, he wasn’t quite sure he made the best impression considering that he had to be defended during most of it.

Nico groaned beside him, face buried in his hands as he sank down to the base of the tree. “Uhg, and they wonder why I stay away?” He uncovered his face to look up at Will with a apologetic look. “I’m sorry. I tried to warn you, but there is no way to prepare you for this chaos that we call the royal family.”

Will sank down next to Nico with a smile, “Not like the royal families of the land are much better. Queen Hestia is the only way that any of the kingdoms ever remain peaceful amongst each other.”

“Queen Hestia is very kind,” Nico said with a fond smile. “She helped me a lot when I first started looking for my sister.”

“You know Queen Hestia!?” Will shouted in shock. “Does she know you are a merperson?”

“She does,” Nico replied with a shrug as if it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“Nico,” Will said. “You can unite the human and merpeople yourself with that connection! No one dares go against her because everyone loves her.”

Nico looked outward in thought, “I do believe we may have discussed it once.” He shook his head, “But I was more focused on finding my sister instead. Besides, I haven’t talked to her in over a year. I doubt she would remember the pathetic little kid she helped all that time ago.”

“I doubt it,” Will said, looking up into the leaves of the tree above them. “I have heard nothing but kind things about Queen Hestia. And despite her age, she remembers everything. It is part of the reason why no one challenges her. Anyone that has done something terrible will feel her wrath, but more than anything she remembers kindness.”

Nico just shrugged again, like his connection with the queen of the entire land wasn’t that big of a deal.

Will rolled his eyes, “After you meet my mother, I will see if we can arrange a meeting with Queen Hestia.” He bumped Nico’s shoulder to get him to look at him. “You’ll see. I’m not the one that is going to bring these two worlds together, you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I chose to change the family dynamics a bit in this because why not? One thing I do know is that I will never be partially fond of Zeus and I want to write Hera in a good light because the poor lady has been through enough. I hope you like the changes I have made. Let me know what you think. XD


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for not updating for a few days. I have had a rough couple of days. But here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!

“I don’t want to,” Will whined making Nico roll his eyes in annoyance. “It’s cold.”

“Will,” Nico groaned attempting to pull Will farther down the corridor where it was actually colder. “You need to get used to it." The closer they were to the garden, the warmer it was, and they hadn’t even been able to make it even a third of the way into the palace. The moment there was no warmth left of the earth’s core, Will would start shivering and complaining that it was too cold. It wasn’t that Nico expected him to get used to the freezing temperatures overnight, but it had been a couple of days. It didn’t make sense that Will seemed to have transformed completely into a merman, yet he couldn’t regulate his body’s temperature to the temperature around him like all merpeople could. Even the royal physician was at a loss as to why Will’s body didn’t automatically adapt. No matter what tests were run, he was considered a merperson. 

“I’m trying,” Will pouted, then shivered arms automatically wrapping around himself. “I told you I’ve never been a fan of the cold. I come from a very warm climate.”

Nico let out a exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes once more. “I get that, but you are never going to get used to the cold if you don’t push yourself.”

“Or I could just eat another pomegranate.” Will suggested, pulling out a pomegranate from the little leaf made satchel he now carried around with him. He took a bite of the fruit, a contents sigh leaving his lips as his tanned skin seemed to warm.

“You can’t live on those forever, Will.” Nico scolded with a frown. “The tree can only grow so much and I’m sure while my step mother is being kind now. That might change when she realizes that you are going to eat all of her hard work.”

Will wilted a bit as he wrapped the fruit up before placing it back into his bag. “I know... I...” He sighed heavily. “I just feel so... useless. I know that I should be trying to adjust to the cold, but I just can’t. It is different here. On land I can wrap myself up in a millions different clothes and blankets and it isn’t so bad... Here... I.... I have nothing. I just have to get used to it, but I don’t know if I can.”

Nico sighed, taking Will’s hand. “I know it is hard, but you need to keep trying. You chose the sea, so you need to fully accept that choice.”

“You said that I could return to the land.” Will said looking up at Nico like he had just said that he might not be able to return to see his mother.

“In time, Will.” Nico said. “It isn’t easy to transform back and forth at first. Clearly your first time transforming into a merperson wasn’t as easy as we thought it was. The fact that you can’t adjust to the temperatures is proof of that.”

Will seemed to deflate further, “So I’m stuck here?”

“Will,” Nico sighed heavily, the boy had been really testing his patience recently. When was Will going to realize that he was keeping himself stuck there. “You’re not stuck here. You made it here, did you not?”

Will nodded his head, a bit of that spark and brightness returning confidently. “I can do this. I am not cold. Mind over matter.” 

Nico just rolled his eyes as Will continued to mutter confident thoughts and phrases to himself as they slowly made their way further away from the garden and deeper into the palace. Despite Will muttering his confident words, Nico still kept an eye on his shivering form. He could tell that Will was trying hard to ignore his body’s constant shivering.

“I can’t.” Will whispered, shivering even more and pulling them to a stop. “If I go any further I will pass out from the cold again.” 

Nico raised a curious eyebrow, “I don’t understand. When we were traveling here the water was this cold and you weren’t doing great, but you were fine. What changed?”

Will shook his head, “I don’t know.” He said through chattering teeth as he went to reach for another bite of the pomegranate, but stopped. Nico followed his gaze to notice the leaf satchel was starting to collect frost on it as it started to freeze. “Maybe things from land weren’t meant to be here.” Will mumbled to himself or Nico, Nico wasn’t quite sure. 

“You chose the sea, Will.” Nico reinforced. “You are meant to be here.”

“What if I’m not?” Will asked a bit desperately, eyes wide as he looked to Nico. “What if this was a mistake and the ocean is trying to tell me that? You say you need me to bring these two worlds together, but Nico, my word means nothing in either. You are the one that has the power to do it. You are a prince of one of the three kingdoms of the sea and you know Queen Hestia of the land.”

Nico groaned loudly as he rubbed his temples. They have had this argument multiple times by now. Honestly, Nico didn’t see why Queen Hestia would ever remember him even if she knew his secret. And while he was a prince, he wasn’t really. Hazel was the heir to the thrown, the people of his father’s kingdom didn’t really like him. When he was younger they called him a spoiled little brat. When he got older and had lost his sister to the land, they called him the strange, dark one that looked more dead than alive. Even if Queen Hestia did remember him and wished to form an alliance, there was no way the three kingdoms of the sea would agree if he was the bridge. Zeus hated him, Poseidon tolerated him and his father.... well, his father was too busy with other issues half the time to even acknowledge his existence. Will had argued that the older generation wasn’t the ones he needed to convince. That Jason and Percy were the ones that would stand by his side regardless of what their parents said. And even if Thalia had renounced her claim to the thrown, she and the hunters would stand by them as well.

“Please, Will.” Nico sighed, he had been doing a lot of that recently. “Let’s not have that argument again. All the tales we were told as children said it was the human that chose the sea that would bring the two worlds together. Not a forsaken prince that just happened to run into a queen on land.”

Will frowned, “Stop thinking of yourself as a nobody. You are can do more than you think.”

“Says the one that doubts he should even be here.” Nico snapped back. “Think you should take a taste of your own medicine, doctor.”

“I can’t control how long it takes my body to adjust to everything,” Will snapped back, jaw set into a stubborn frown. “You have the power to make the change that will bring the people of the land and sea together. Why can’t you see that?”

“You know what,” Nico growled, fist clenched. “I am done with this conversation. Go back to my step mother’s garden and stay there for the rest of your life for all I care. I don’t need you or anyone else telling me how to live my life.” He quickly turned away from Will and stormed deeper into the palace where he knew Will wouldn’t bother him because of the cold. 

He just didn’t understand why couldn’t realize that being born with royal blood did not mean you had any power. The only reason why he was probably even welcomed back into his father’s kingdom was because everyone was curious about a human finally choosing the sea. No one really cared about him... well... maybe Hazel, but he doubted everyone else, even Jason and Percy. Percy had been the one that went with Bianca to land and returned saying that she had found her human mate that chose land and she wouldn’t be returning. Then there was Jason, that everyone seemed to love and respect. There was no way someone like him would ever really want to be around someone like Nico. If he was being completely honest with himself, Will had more in common with his sister and cousins than he did. They seemed to be easily well-liked because all of them had bright personalities that were easy gravitate towards. Nico wasn’t a people person.

Even within the few days that Will had spent there, he got to know more of the people in the palace than Nico ever did. Nico at first questioned if it was because of Will being human that people seemed to want to talk to him, but that was quickly disproved. It was Will that would actively go to people and start up conversations with them while they were exploring the palace to get him better adjusted to the temperature. At first, the guards, servants, aristocrats and anyone else that Will approached seemed nervous at first. But one bright smile from Will was all it took for them to relax and have a conversation with him while Nico stayed in the shadows and watched. Will tried to get him to join in the conversation a few times, much to his displeasure. Surprisingly, most of the conversations weren’t terrible, just awkward because Nico wasn’t really sure what to always say.Will, thankfully, always knew though, bridging the silence.

“Hey, bro!” Percy shouted happily already throwing an arm around him. “Where is Will?”

“Get off me,” Nico hissed, shoving his cousin off him a little more aggressive than usual.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked, following next to him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be working on wedding stuff?” Nico frowned, wanting nothing more than for Percy to leave him alone. He was not in the mood to deal with people which was why he was on his way to the training area.

“We are taking a break,” Percy answered with a shrug. “Who knew that planning a wedding would be so much work? I am going to die of boredom by the time the wedding actually comes.”

“We can only hope,” Nico quipped, trying hard to conceal his small smile.

“Rude,” Percy chuckled. “Still having problems with Will adjusting to the cold?”

Nico let out a heavy sigh, “Yeah. I just don’t understand how he could deal with it all the way here, but now that we are hear he just can’t.”

“Maybe it is because meeting our family is intimidating?” Percy suggested with a shrug. “I mean our fathers argue about everything.”

“Possibly,” Nico hummed in acknowledgment. “I just don’t know what to do. At this rate we are never going to make it back to the land. He might have to make Persephone’s garden his new home.”

Percy stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, this is a lot for him to handle, Nico. He just learned that we existed and then shortly after met the royal family of the three kingdoms. It is a little much, don’t you think? Plus, his family and friends probably think he is dead. He has to be worried about them.”

Nico clenched his jaw tightly as he thought about when he first went to land to look for Bianca. It was extremely hard because while he had been on land before, it was with others that knew about it. This time, he was alone, cold and hungry in a large place that he didn’t know much about other than from his studies that he ignored mostly. He had seen how cruel and unforgiving the humans were first hand during this time. No one cared about a lonely boy shivering at the side of the road. It had been hard, but eventually Nico learned how to survive in the cruel world of humans. Nothing he experienced was like what Will was going through. Will had been treated kindly and wasn’t alone.

He shook his head dislodging those memories. “Want to come train with me?” He would have to deal with Will later. If he returned now, he would still be angry and they would only get into another argument. He needed to clear his mind and maybe ask someone else to talk to Will because clearly he didn’t have the patience to.

“Sure,” Percy grinned. “Get ready to get your butt beat!”

Nico rolled his eyes, “Not going to happen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, let me know what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the late update... I was playing kingdom hearts: melody or whatever. it just came out today. XD I love music games like that, mainly because I love the music more than anything. But here is the chapter!!!!
> 
> Enjoy!!!

Will wrapped his arms around himself tighter as he watched Nico swim away. The moment that Nico’s form disappeared, he turned around to head back to the garden where it was warm. Nico’s words echoed in his head at him having to stay here forever. If he didn’t get used to the cold then he would never get to see his friends and mother again. His mother would be all alone. Well, that wasn’t necessarily true, his friends in town would help take care of her like they did when he was away. He could feel his eyes water, but the tears just wouldn’t come. Guess merpeople didn’t necessarily cry because crying underwater didn’t make sense. At least he wouldn’t have to explain to people why he was crying because men and boys aren’t supposed to cry.

He kept his arms wrapped around him the entire way back, head down even if he was no longer cold. The guards at the entrance of the garden greeted him politely which he returned before he sank down to the base of the pomegranate tree and curled himself into a ball. This was his home now, his prison. He didn’t know what was worse, here or the deserted island. At least here he could talk to people and maybe eventually have a chance to get used to the cold and leave. Although, he had a feeling that Nico would be long gone by that time. He knew how desperately he wanted to return to land to find his older sister. There was no doubt in Will’s mind that Nico would gladly leave him there.

“Sir William,” one of the guards said even though he had told them just to call him Will. “You have a visitor.”

“Thank you, Adras.” Will said with a small smile as he sat himself up and turned around to see who was visiting. She was definitely someone he hadn’t met before. She had soft tanned skin with chocolate-brown hair that was cut choppy and unevenly with thin strands braided down the sides. Her eyes seemed to change color like a kaleidoscope, her tail an iridescent black that seemed to match the colors of her eyes. All in all, the girl was beautiful no matter what. Will bowed politely, not knowing exactly who she was and not wanting to offend her.

She laughed musically, “No need for that Will. I’m Piper.” She gracefully made her way across the short distance between them and extended her hand which he shook. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Mine as well,” Will answered, pulling his hand away. He knew this must be the Piper that everyone was talking about, Jason’s mate that refused to be forced into a marriage just because the ocean said it was so. “May I ask what brings you here?”

Piper’s eyes seemed to change rapidly as she smiled, “Just to talk.” She sat down on one of the large roots of the pomegranate tree then pat the space next to her which Will took. “I can only imagine how much of a change this must be for you and I am here to help.”

Will looked up at her then blinked a bit in confusion, “Help how?”

“The whole city is talking about how you can’t handle the cold.” Piper explained. “And I know for a fact that it is your mind” She poked the middle of his forehead. “and heart,” She poked his chest. “that is preventing you from naturally adapting to it.”

“I don’t understand,” Will answered. “I really am trying, but...” he looked at the frost damaged leaf bag he still had on. “But I am starting to think that maybe humans were never supposed to be here.”

Piper laughed as she rolled her eyes, “See that is what I am talking about. Will, you only consider yourself a human, nothing more, nothing less.” She smirked, “Well guess what buttercup, you aren’t just a human anymore. You may have started off as one, yes, but now you are a merperson. The sooner you believe that, the easier it will be.”

“I dont...”

“Nah uh,” Piper cut in, placing a delicate finger to his lips. “We are going to try something, so just humor me. If it doesn’t work, then I guess I was wrong. Buuuutt, if I am right then you can explore the kingdom to your heart’s content. Yes?”

Will just nodded which Piper seemed to consider a sufficient enough answer. She removed her finger from his lips and pulled out what looked like a piece of cloth. He gave her a questioning look, but she just returned it with a smile.

“Trust me,” Piper grinned. “Since you started off human you associate ice with cold. In your travels here, there wasn’t as much ice so you didn’t get as cold. Now that there is ice everywhere, you just assume that it is always cold, freezing in fact. All you need to do is cover you eyes and believe you are a merperson, because you are. Let your body automatically adjust to the surroundings like it is supposed to.”

Will looked between the cloth and Piper for a moment before nodding with a sigh, taking the cloth from her to tie it around his eyes so he couldn’t see. He was willing to try anything so he wouldn’t be stuck her for the foreseeable future. Time seemed to mean nothing to the merpeople and so he didn’t even know how long he had been gone. Even during his journey there, Nico made sure that they were deep enough so that humans wouldn’t see them. Nico said that unless they were in the protected zone, it was very dangerous to swim close to the surface. 

“You ready?” Piper asked, taking his hand gently in her own.

Will took a deep breath, “Ready.” As he felt Piper leading him, he tried to focus on the fact that he wasn’t just human anymore. That as a merperson he should be naturally adjusting to the temperature around him. So instead of focusing on whether or not he was cold, he focused on the fact that he was a merperson swimming around the ocean. He thought about all the amazing things he had seen in his journey here with Nico. But more than anything, he thought about how much he enjoyed Nico’s company and seeing his smile.

When the cloth around his eyes suddenly came off, he had to blink a few times to readjust to the light. A quick look around made him realize that Piper had taken him to the now empty throne room and yet, he wasn’t cold. The entire way there he hadn’t been cold. Even just floating there in the middle of the throne room he wasn’t cold. He turned back to Piper with a bright smile, a smirk on her lips, one hand on her hip.

“Well,” Piper chuckled. “Are you merperson or human, Will?”

“I’m both,” Will grinned. “But right now I am a merperson, through and through.”

Piper nodded, “Good.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “See, all you needed was some guidance. It is the same thing we teach the kids here when it is time for them to practice turning into a human.”

“Thank you so much, Piper.” Will said before pulling her into a quick hug.

“You’re welcome, Will.” Piper chuckled, pulling away from the hugs. “Now, what do you say we go explore the city now that you won’t freeze to death?”

“Yes!” Will said with a bright smile that just wouldn’t disappear. Ever since he came to the city he had wanted to explore it, but that wasn’t possible. When they had first arrived, he didn’t wish to keep the king and queen waiting. Then he couldn’t adjust to the cold, so it hadn’t been possible. Now he felt like the possibilities were endless. He could explore the city, talk to all the different people, see all the amazing things they did to live under the sea. He felt so full of excited energy that he felt like he was about to explode.

Piper just laughed at his excitement before taking his hand and guiding him through the palace. Now that he actually had a chance to look at everything, it was even more amazing and beautiful. The entire palace was built within a swirl of ice structures and followed that throughout. There were beautiful mosaics on almost every surface. Some looked like portraits of maybe ancestors of the royal family, others looked like they told a story.

Thankfully, Piper was more than happy to explain the art and architecture to him to the best of her knowledge. She told him that if he wanted a more in depth tour that Annabeth and Hazel were the best for that. He didn’t mind though, whatever she did know was still fascinating and knowledgeable. By the time the reached the outer part of the swirling palace, Piper stopped him.

“Maybe we should let Nico where you wandered off to before we go into the city,” Piper suggested with a shrug. “We have been wandering around the palace for quite some time, I’m surprised that Nico hasn’t sounded the alarm that you are missing from the garden.”

Will looked down at the part of city below with a frown, his hand coming up to hold his other arm at the elbow. “I doubt he would be worried... we kind of got into a big fight before you found me.”

Piper sighed loudly, “Look.” Will looked up to meet Piper’s eyes. “I know Nico can be a lot to handle sometimes, but he really is a good person. He has put the search for his sister on hold for a while because of things that were happening back here so I can imagine how frustrated he must be feeling at having to come back here again.” She chuckled softly, “But don’t worry, Will. I have a feeling he enjoys your company more than he is willing to show.”

Will shrugged, looking back down at the merpeople going about their business. He thought about the argument he was having with Nico. “Piper,” he said softly still looking at the people below. “The stories of a human choosing the sea and bringing humans and merpeople together are they all like that?”

Piper hummed in thought, “Pretty much. Although they have been interpreted differently. Most people think that it is the human that will unite us. Other believe that the first human choosing the sea is just a sign that it is going to happen. Why?”

“My fights with Nico have been about it,” Will explained. “He is a prince of one of the three kingdoms of the sea and he personally knows Queen Hestia who is the queen of all the lands. I may have a king as a father, but I hold no power there. Nico holds power to sway both humans and merpeople into something peaceful. He doesn’t agree.”

“Give him time.” Piper said with a small smile. “When you go back to land, I’m assuming you will be finding this Queen Hestia.” Will nodded. “Start with that and see where it goes. Having the two worlds come together isn’t on a timer or anything. Take it step by step. Neither...”

“WILL!” Nico’s voice shouted from behind them, causing both of them to turn around. It wasn’t a shout of anger, but relief. Nico instantly was in front of him, looking him up and down as if expecting him to be frozen somewhere.

“Have you finally gotten over being cold all the time?” Nico asked.

Will smiled, “I did.” He looked over to Piper with a bright smile. “I had some help.” 

Nico’s eyes followed his, “Thank you Piper.”

“Anytime,” Piper grinned. “I’ll let you two wander the city together before you leave.” She winked. “Have fun.” She disappeared down one of the corridors. 

“We can leave now if you want,” Will suggested even though he really wanted to explore more.

Nico shook his head, “There is time to explore Will. Besides, I do think I said we could explore it later, and it is later.”

“Thank you!” Will beamed before placing a quick kiss to Nico’s cheek and grabbing his hand. “Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if I will be able to post tomorrow, I will be helping my dad and sister a bunch. But we will see. It all depends on when I have to help them.
> 
> Anyways. Thank you for all the support. I am glad everyone is enjoying the chapters so far. XD

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think. Especially if you would like to see it continued. XD


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